


"what do you call this relationship?"

by nashisanasshole



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27751552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nashisanasshole/pseuds/nashisanasshole
Summary: “Percy Jackson, you literally hate every single guy I meet.”Percy simply shrugged. “You have shit taste, honestly.”Annabeth narrowed her eyes, then snorted. “Says the guy who dated Beatrice Rose who used you like a damn sugar daddy.”“Okay, you literally hate every single girl I meet.”“Because you have shit taste.”Percy sighed. Annabeth glared at him, but inside, she understood where Percy was coming from—when it came to dating men in college, Annabeth never seemed to have any luck with finding anyone who would sincerely support her interests and love her just the way she is. It always felt like the only guy who seemed to understand her as Annabeth Chase, as her raw, most vulnerable self, was Percy himself.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 29





	"what do you call this relationship?"

Annabeth woke up in a noisy lecture hall for her philosophy class. Her glasses were in front of her in neat shape, as she rubbed her eyes with the hem of her sweater, still feeling pretty beat. It was the last day of the week, and Annabeth had one last philosophy paper to submit before relinquishing herself to parties. She was almost done with the paper—just needed someone to read it all over—when she fell asleep, unable to fight the drowsiness. She reached out for her laptop for one last read when she noticed her laptop was nowhere to be seen.

Panicked, Annabeth looked to her left and saw a guy with jet black hair reading over her philosophy paper off her laptop. He was wearing a navy blue hoodie, his ocean-green eyes glued onto the monitor moving left to right, with his mouth quietly mouthing the words. 

“Fuck, Percy. I thought someone stole my laptop,” Annabeth sighed and leaned onto the guy’s shoulder in relief. He was none other than Percy Jackson, Annabeth’s best friend, and her supposed soul mate based on a random Buzzfeed quiz they took together. He glanced at Annabeth, winked (which Annabeth scoffed at), returned to reading Annabeth’s paper, and opened his mouth.

“Language. I bet your new boyfriend doesn’t like it when you spontaneously swear?” Annabeth gasped dramatically and punched Percy’s arm at the remark. Ow! Percy exclaimed but he also had a big goofy grin, as they exchanged playful eye contact. Annabeth sighed.

Annabeth used to date one of the fraternity dudes some time ago. Percy warned her that he was a massive asshole, telling her stories of how he had this mindset of how women are subordinate to men, and how gay people are not men because they gave up their masculinity. Annabeth laughed Percy’s warnings off, thinking them as jokes, telling Percy that “he is just jealous that she has a boyfriend” just to be caught unawares when the fraternity dude said how women belong in the kitchen, and he would love with Annabeth would be the perfect “housewife” for him.

“I swear to God,” Annabeth complained, sitting up in her seat, propping one of her legs up, and resting her arms on it. “I didn’t think he would be this conservative and hyper-obsessive boyfriend who couldn’t handle his girlfriend swearing a bit,” She rolled her eyes as Percy simply smiled. 

“Well, I did tell you that he wasn’t worth your time,” He slid the laptop over to Annabeth with a thumb up, and Annabeth smiled, submitting the paper right on time before the class started. “He was a known douche in the fraternity house.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t listen to me when I told you to break up with that sorority bitch who used you to date one of the swimming team dudes,” Annabeth said, with a smug grin on her face. Percy blushed. “Okay, okay, in my defense, I legitimately didn’t know she was using me to approach one of the swimming team dudes,” He looked flustered, playing with his hoodie strings. “She seemed sweet and all until she decided to cheat on Jonathan fucking Hugh,” Percy mumbled, and sighed in disbelief. Annabeth simply shrugged. “Well, I  _ did  _ tell you that she wasn’t worth your time.” 

Percy narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but his lips couldn’t lie, as the end of his lips were curled up into a smile. Alright, I lose, Percy mumbled, raising his eyebrows, and throwing his hands up in the air as if surrendering to Annabeth. Annabeth just laughed and poked the side of Percy’s stomach. Percy flinched back in his seat, exclaiming to her to stop, then proceeding to try to tickle her too. In a wild second, the two students were so infused in tickling each other, not noticing the students giving them weird glances. As Professor McKay walked into the lecture hall, Percy and Annabeth started to settle in again… but they still had goofy grins slapped onto their faces, exchanging surreptitious glances at each other.

\---

The class was dismissed, as Annabeth shoved her laptop into her bag, remembering to wake up Percy who inevitably fell asleep. Just before shaking his shoulder to head out the lecture hall, Annabeth pulled out her phone and took a quick snapshot of her best friend sleeping peacefully in today’s lecture, despite Professor McKay’s constant glares. Taking a look at the photo, Annabeth chuckled to herself and added the photo to a folder named “sleepyhead” in her photo gallery. She then shook Percy’s shoulder and woke him up from his sweet little nap. Waking up, Percy let out a loud yawn.

“Woah, did McKay give me that glare again?”

“You bet.”

Percy shrugged. “Eh, well, at least I’m super confident in my paper, she would have to at least give me a B+ for this class.”

Percy stretched and ruffled his hair, slinging his beige backpack on his shoulder, and accompanied Annabeth. He nonchalantly put his arm around her shoulder with Annabeth moving closer to him. She leaned her head on his arm, then showed the photo she took a few minutes ago, bursting out in laughter. Percy yelled in embarrassment but also laughed, knowing it will be a great addition to Annabeth’s “sleepyhead” collection. 

They walked out of the academic building and each got a can of soda at a nearby vending machine, sipping on the drink and talking about upcoming parties and events at school. It was already October and the weather was starting to become chillier each day. But being in Percy’s snug arm, Annabeth simply felt warm and cozy. While bantering about Halloween coming up soon, Annabeth mentioned the Halloween party and the costume design she and her boyfriend decided to wear.

“I’m gonna be dressing up as Princess Leia and Mark will be Han Solo.”

Percy stared at Annabeth for a few seconds then burst into laughter, almost spewing his drink. “Woman, you don’t even know a thing about Star Wars!”

Annabeth blushed in embarrassment and punched Percy in his arm. He staggered, almost spilling his Pepsi Cola. “Well, I’m just trying to be a nice girlfriend and, I don't know, _learn_ about the things he likes!”

Percy steadied himself, as his laughter slowly subsided. He looked over at Annabeth, met her eyes. His painfully green eyes seemed to be seeing right through her. His eyes did that. It lured you in, urging you to spill all your secrets and truth. Annabeth tried to stay composed but it felt futile—it was difficult hiding anything from Percy Jackson.

Percy sighed under his breath. “Okay, well, does  _ he _ try to be a nice boyfriend and show interest in the things _you_ love? Architecture? Renaissance paintings? Your favorite indie bands?”

Annabeth stared into Percy’s green eyes defiantly, trying to look confident, then looked away, nervously sipping her can of Pepsi Cola. “He will,” She mumbled. “He’s a really great guy, I’m sure he will.”

Percy seemed to roll his eyes, taking a sip of his Pepsi Cola. “You know, I hate to be that friend, but I don’t really like this Mark guy.”

“Percy Jackson, you literally hate every single guy I meet.”

Percy simply shrugged. “You have shit taste, honestly.”

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, then snorted. “Says the guy who dated Beatrice Rose who used you like a damn sugar daddy.”

“Okay,  _ you  _ literally hate every single girl I meet.”

“Because you have shit taste.”

Percy sighed. Annabeth glared at him, but inside, she understood where Percy was coming from—when it came to dating men in college, Annabeth never seemed to have any luck with finding anyone who would sincerely support her interests and love her just the way she is. It always felt like the only guy who seemed to understand her as Annabeth Chase, as her raw, most vulnerable self, was Percy himself. 

Annabeth stole a glance at Percy. He had a scowl on his face, sipping his drink. She hated to see him like this. His arm no longer was resting on Annabeth’s shoulder, as the wind suddenly felt colder against her thin sweatshirt. Annabeth sighed.

“Okay, can you at least give me a chance? You can go on and mock and taunt how you told me so later on, but I really think Mark is worth my time.”

Percy raised his eyebrows as if he were about to mock her again:  _ oh, so you  _ really _ think he’s actually worth your time? _ But instead, he replied with a smile. “Alright, well, at least I’ll have fun making fun of you when you guys  _ inevitably  _ break up in the end.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled back, scooching closer in toward him. Percy’s arm found its way back onto Annabeth’s shoulder and suddenly everything felt warmer. Percy held his can of Pepsi in front of her as she clinked hers against it, bringing the can to her lips. The drink was sweet. 

\---

Annabeth was supposed to be in the living room. 

Percy, with a handful of chips, looked around the dormitory living room. A few students were sitting at the corner bantering and eating Double Stuf Oreos, but other than them, there was no sign of any smart-looking blonde girl. 

It was a kind of tradition. After exams, Percy and Annabeth would sit in the living room, watching The Lion King, their favorite animated film, singing along to I Just Can’t Wait to Be A King and Hakuna Matata. If they got super drunk, they would pretend to be Mufasa and Scar, reenacting that famous scene of Scar plunging Mufasa to his death, or Simba and Nala, just goofing around. 

So when he didn’t see Annabeth in the living room, Percy frowned. He set his chips on the living room table, which he situated so it faced the living room TV, and slumped in the sofa behind it, pulling his phone out of his sweatpants back pocket. He dialed Annabeth and opened a bag of Cheetos Puffs, plopping a few into his mouth. He frowned when the dial tones seemed to go on forever. Was she taking a nap or something? Not being on time was a very non-Annabeth thing to do, and Percy started to worry if she was okay. 

Just when Percy was about to walk over to Annabeth’s room upstairs, he heard a voice down the hallway—Annabeth’s voice. Sighing in relief and with a huge grin slapped on his face, Percy walked over to the living room door and faced Annabeth. “God, I thought you forgot about our movie night… ”

His voice faltered. In front of him was Annabeth with a troubled look on her face. She mouthed  _ sorry,  _ then bit her lips, looking to her side. He followed to where Annabeth was looking, and Percy noticed a tall guy standing behind her. The dude looked like a senior. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, converse, and a white hoodie, which seemed to complement nicely with his blonde hair. He was an inch taller than Percy, which Percy did  _ not _ like at all. When Percy looked him in his eyes, he hoped he wasn’t scowling because the guy had that mischievous, I-will-steal-your-girl-look—in short, he looked like any other fuckboy at a college fraternity house. 

Percy glanced at Annabeth, a bit disapprovingly as if to say,  _ please don’t tell me this is the guy you speak so highly about,  _ as she rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I’m late. This is Mark.” As Annabeth introduced Mark to Percy, he slipped his hand into Annabeth’s and smiled. God, it was the fakest smile Percy has seen, and he had to resist himself from gagging. 

“Hey, Percy, right?” Mark had a deep, husky voice. 

“Uh-huh,” Percy replied rather apathetically.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Annabeth’s boyfriend, Mark,” He offered his right hand for a handshake, looking at Percy with that fake smile on his face. He felt his eyebrows scrunching at the word “boyfriend,” but Percy glanced down at his hand and reluctantly grabbed it, shook it twice, then let go a bit abruptly, as if he was holding onto an old pair of gym shorts. 

“Percy Jackson. Annabeth’s soulmate.” He had a small smirk as he replied to Mark. Percy noticed his smile slowly fading, as he narrowed his eyes as if Percy was an annoying little pest.

“You don’t mind me crashing you two’s movie night, right?”

Percy clenched his fist a little. “Oh well, not at all. Just worried you might feel excluded joining  _ our  _ movie night,” He said nonchalantly, hoping Mark got the actual message:  _ get lost, you fuckboy-looking asshole, and leave me and Annabeth alone. Thanks. _

But instead, he had a smug smile, as if he was enjoying the challenge he was given. 

The atmosphere felt instantly colder, as Annabeth cleared her throat. “Alright boys, let’s just watch some movie.” She led Mark into the living room, her fingers still interlocked with his, settling down on the sofa. The sofa was unfortunately too small to accommodate more than two people, and Percy had to sit in the armchair next to the sofa. He really hoped he didn’t have a permanent scowl on his face because this Mark guy was impossible to like. He made the worst first impression on Percy. And you know what people say about first impressions—they’re always right.

Percy walked over to the armchair while looking at Annabeth. She still looked uncomfortable, still looking apologetic while holding Mark’s hand. Percy simply shook his head and sat down. She would have to apologize for crashing their special night with her boyfriend. But that could hold on for a bit—first, Percy had a pest to get rid of. 

**Author's Note:**

> can't believe i haven't uploaded any percabeth fics here??? despite it being my favorite ship in pjo??? i completely forgot i wrote this bit a while ago and i think i want to finally continue writing it; hopefully i won't just yeet this out of the way in the future yiKES !


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